Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-23
THE FINANCIAL PROBLEM.
Views of Col. John TilIett of Austin, Tex
Washington National View.

Views of Col. John TilIett OF Austin, Tex,
Washington National View.
Silver and gold are as old as civilizs-
ton. Paper money is modern, brought
into use to facilitate the worlds CON-
merce. What snail be the basis upon
which it rests in the future is the problem
| of our times. TIE enormous public debt
created by the war has been utilized, and
our paper money rests solely upon it.
/ About half our circulation is non in r
/ 1T 5eeripgdebt put into circulation by the
/ government direct; the other half is All
| interest bearing debt, which has been
/ so manipulated tHat private corporations
are the benefcaries and not the govern
menU. The evils Of this system are too
apparent. The interest bearing debt
must be perp-tuated in order that the
present system may life. VIII taxpayers
stand il? l opine not, when tde mist Of
loyalty which has surrounded It clears
up. If the government has the right to
renew the lie of this system Tor twenty
years more, scale the interest down
from 6 per cent. to per cent,
it has the right to scale the
debt out Of existence by paying the ST.
2 "
600 in the control of government, and
close the whole matter up by the govern
ment printing enough Of the nOn-interest
bearing notes to settle the account in
full and reliave the people of this load OF
taXaciCa, which aCCrueS in the interest OF
few. In equity, the man in Dakota, or
the rian in Texas, has the same right to
bring mis- titie-deeds here OF his wheat
field and cotton plantation, deposit them
with the government, and draw 90 per
cent of the face value IN g paper money
made and indorsed by the government,
and issued to them ct an annual tax of l
per cent.
Government securities value is buried
up III the ability Of the tsX-levying and
collecting power of the government. The
wheat and cotton field represent food and
clothing for the people; their value can
not he ignored. The producing classes
OF the United States will demand Ieeisla-
ton that will sir down upon, without Ie-
gard to precedence, any privileged class.
The act which brought the present sys-
TEN into existence, taxed state ana pri-
vate baa6S ou1 of existence in the several
states. The states must be allowed TO put
into circulation, free from federal taxa
ton, paper money that will suit them !;
on he assumption, taking for example the
British colonies, located IN all parts % tne
world: They have their own colonial
paper money, ana is redemption is not
based upon the puoiic de0t Of England, or
the colonies CT the bonds OF the United
States.
The coinage OF silver by our govern
ment will be simpliGed. The miners
from the Western states will 90 direct
with the silver bullion to the United
States mints and ges its vGlGe, less cost
OF coinage, in coined dollars Or silver GER
tifcates, without regard to the price OF
silver in London, where it is wanted for
shipment to India, coined into rupees and
paid out to the laborer in cotton and
wheat production ct about eight cents
per day. England wants chesp silver,
and our government, as it now runs,
seems to be an important factor in re-
duciDg the value Uf cur silver products in
the interest of English merchants, but de-
stroying % per cent. of the purchasing
power Of our Mexican neighbors.